


Moving

by TheLostLibran



Series: Flufftober 2020 [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff without Plot, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLostLibran/pseuds/TheLostLibran
Summary: Harry doesn't deal with changes like moving well. This tendency worsens when Draco is also involved in the process.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Blaise Zabini, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Series: Flufftober 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945984
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Moving

**Author's Note:**

> Flufftober Day 11 prompt: Moving
> 
> Yes, all of the really normal prompts have to undergo metaphorical transformation in my head.
> 
> (Trust me, it's quite painful)
> 
> Disclaimer: Try to search for the plot and the fluff aspects somewhere in between the lines of this one shot.

The first time it happened, Harry was happy. Zacharias Smith was being human for once, and the Slytherins were getting the respect they deserved. Though he initially doubted the rumours, he had to believe them when Smith and Terry Boot apologised to Draco right in front of him.

'I'll admit I was trying to get you into my bed when it looked like you and Harry broke up, because man, you are damn fit!'

'I'm glad you see reason,' Draco replied with a small amount of sterness in his voice. He kept his face open and eyes, forgiving.

Terry nudged Smith after an awkward moment. Harry narrowed his eyes at that.

'Yes, well,' Smith cleared his throat, 'I also wanted to humiliate you after, you know,'

'Then I'm really glad you see reason,' Draco said calmly and confidently. Harry laughed hard at the sudden terror on the Hufflepuffs' faces.

The second time it happened, Harry knew it was innocent. As NEWTS were looming in the distance, study groups had formed with people mingling as if the war had never happened. Draco was their resident consultant on Potions.

Smith, Draco, Ron and Hannah were around a coffee table pouring over the theory of Dreamless Sleep. Smith usually had the most doubts and Draco explained patiently.

'I'm going to bed,' Harry announced.

'I'll be there in ten,' Draco called back. But he returned after an hour, collapsing right into the space next to Harry.

'Smith?' Harry asked, curling around him.

'Smith,' Draco confirmed. 'I swear he either slept or skipped all his Potions classes from year one.' Harry massaged Draco's temples and they slipped into a tired sleep.

After the third time when Draco and Smith were sitting in the common room with hardly any space between them, heads together and laughing, at one in the morning, Harry was sure something was afoot.

Of course, Draco didn't believe him.

'You are being ridiculous, Potter. Why do you think people are always up to something?'

'How do you explain Smith's recent attachment to you?'

'That's your jealousy talking, Potter. I know you don't like that I stay up long teaching. I know you don't like me spending time with others.'

Harry scoffed, folding his hands. 'I'm not jealous. And I don't like that we don't spend any time together.'

Draco rolled his sleeves and straightened his tie. 'We can't spend every second with each other, Potter. We have our NEWTS and anything personal needs to wait.'

Harry tried not to be upset when he saw Draco, Anthony, Smith, Terry and Dean playing Exploding Snap that afternoon. It's true that ever since Commemoration Day, the student dynamics had changed for the better. He wasn't so happy about it now.

He decided to give Draco a taste of his own medicine and began speaking only when addressed. He studied with Hermione (who raised an eyebrow and shook her head), flew with Ron and Ginny and went Nargle hunting with Luna. Everyone knew he was being quiet and mechanical. No one pressed.

Thing was, Harry wanted to be asked. He didn't resent that his friends were couples and wanted privacy sometimes. He knew they would always support him but the realisation that he was on his own, would be on his own, from then on didn't sit well with him. Because Harry didn't do "alone". He couldn't.

If Draco noticed Harry's behaviour, he didn't appear to care. In the end, Harry spoke first.

'What are your plans for your birthday?'

'Nothing big. Zach wants to introduce us to a pub in London. Want to come along?'

Harry didn't comment on "us" or "Zach". He tried not to think whether or not Draco would have invited him if he hadn't asked, what "want to come along" meant. He frowned.

'I don't think drinking two days before your first NEWTS is advisable.'

'Please, Potter. It's my birthday. And I know my limits. It's not like others aren't going to be there. I promise to behave.'

When Draco left the room, Harry sank onto his bed, his hand unconsciously going to the tattoo on his chest. Either Harry was reading wrong or there was a finality in the air.

Try as he might, he couldn't not get Draco a gift. He wrapped it, set it on the dresser in Draco's room, where Draco spent his time now, and cast a Disillusionment on it, timed to wear off on June 6th.

Pansy and Daphne approached him as he stretched himself on the couch.

'Don't mope, Potter,' Pansy said, 'It won't solve any problems.'

'Not much there to not mope,' Daphne replied on his behalf, sitting cross legged on the floor near his feet.

Harry gave them a small smile and regarded them curiously. 'What are you guys doing after school? Did you decide?'

'I'm going to study Muggle fashion. Daphne will be taking some time to think.'

'I heard you two were thinking of flatshare.'

Pansy, smart Pansy, raised a brow at that. 'Are you offering, Potter?'

'Well, Grimmauld is too big for me,' Harry shrugged, leaving a lot unsaid. The girls understood, though.

Harry didn't think about why neither Pansy nor Daphne said anything. His peace with the fact that people were going to leave felt agreed upon long ago. But acceptance was always hard.

Hermione found him sometime later, looking as if she had seen and heard everything. Harry was too tired to be vulnerable. He hid his face in her shoulder.

'What are you doing with the flowers, Harry?' She murmured. Harry didn't ask her how she knew. There wasn't much point really.

'Moving on,' Harry whispered. He felt Ron squeeze in behind him.

'Moving on or moving away?' Ron asked, stroking his back. His uncannily accurate intuition was a balm to Harry's troubled soul.

That was when Harry broke down, sandwiched between his friends. Why was it easier to move on from hate than from love?

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes! It has more angst than fluff!
> 
> As the series progresses, it's becoming increasingly clear that these one shots are related. So check out the previous ones if you liked this.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
